4
Owen
By the time he’d read the same sentence in the brief on his computer screen for the dozenth time, Owen decided there was no way he was going to get any work done. His attention was riveted on the woman upstairs, sleeping away in the bed in his playroom.
There was no denying she’d gotten under his skin. He’d accepted that after their first meeting in his office. Even after he’d learned the truth about why she’d left the Ranch, he’d been fascinated by her.
But something was off, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. This Julia bore little resemblance to the one he’d expected to get. Yes, she was surly and defiant, and she was still obviously in denial about the severity of her transgressions, but she was also sweet and submissive. More so than he’d expected, especially so soon into their time together.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he scrolled for Jared’s name and hit the button to call him.
“Owen. I was wondering when I’d be hearing from you.”
The amusement in his friend’s voice had Owen grinning. “You always were too perceptive for your own good, old man.”
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Leave it to Jared to get right down to business. “What can you tell me about Julia? From before things went so… sideways.”
There was a long, heavy pause, as if Jared was weighing each word before he spoke. Which, knowing him, was exactly the case. “I didn’t have much interaction with her, but from what I remember of her, she was very polite. Although, she always had a bit of a temper if I recall correctly, but I think we all put that down to her being a chef. Even Connor is known to have his moments, though he reins it in around the Littles… at least until they cross the line.”
“What about the bullying? When did that start?”
“We’re honestly not sure. According to Sadie, Julia never really warmed up to the Littles and things escalated pretty quickly after Connor and Hayleigh became an item.”
“Because she was jealous of Hayleigh.” He’d seen the video of her and Hayleigh arguing, heard all the horrible things she’d said to Hayleigh and about Connor. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Could you talk to Sadie, see if she can remember anything else about Julia’s behavior before Hayleigh arrived? Maybe there was something that triggered her dislike of the Littles that nobody noticed before.”
“Trying to exonerate your client, counselor?”
Although he was teasing, there was a coldness in Jared’s voice that Owen wasn’t used to hearing. “No. Even if there was some event that made her behave the way she did, it doesn’t excuse her behavior. But I also want to know why so I can help her work through whatever happened. She can’t heal if we’re missing some vital part of her story.”
There was a long, tense pause before Jared eventually sighed, the sound filled with reluctance. “All right. I’ll talk to Sadie.”
“Thanks. I need to go wake Julia up from her nap anyway.”
“Her nap? She’s there?”
“Ah… yes. We’re spending some time together this weekend.”
A heavy silence hung between them until Jared broke it, his tone somber. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Owen. I’ll let you know if I find anything useful. Good luck.”
Scowling at the phone, Owen hit the button to end the call. He didn’t need luck to deal with Julia. If there was one thing he’d learned about her already, she wasn’t the monster everyone at the Ranch seemed to think she was.
He made his way upstairs, pulling up short in the doorway of the playroom. Instead of a sweetly sleeping little girl, he found a very naughty one playing quietly with the adult-sized play kitchen.
Leaning against the door jamb, he watched her move around the room, humming softly to herself as she “worked”. The scene in front of him certainly didn’t jive with the caricature of someone who hated all Littles, which made him all the more certain that something had happened to trigger her behavior before Hayleigh had come into the picture.
With that in mind, he schooled his features into a stern mask and stepped into the room. “What are you doing out of bed, little one?”
Squealing with surprise, she dropped the plate she’d been holding and whirled around to face him. “Daddy! You scared me!”
“Which wouldn’t have happened if you’d been in bed like you were supposed to be, now would it?”
“I did take a nap, but then I woke up.” Brow furrowed, she looked up at him, obviously confused. “Was I not supposed to get out of bed?”